HIV screening made mandatory before surgeries

ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday directed health officials to ensure mandatory HIV screening before all surgical procedures involving skin piercing or incisions across Pakistan, aiming to curb healthcare-associated transmission of the virus. Mr Kamal issued the directive while chairing a meeting of the Joint Wor­king Group on HIV/AIDS at the ministry. The minister instructed health authorities in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan to formalise a...

By [email protected] (Ikram Junaidi)